Teaching

Each year, Hackett students focus their studies on various aspects of the Catholic Church. During their time at Hackett, students will learn about sacred scripture, church history and the sacraments, morality, and apologetics and prayer in their theology classes.

Sacred scripture

Course 1011
Required: 1 Credit

This course will familiarize students with the truths of salvation history as revealed in the Bible and will invite them into deeper union with God and communion with the Church. Special emphasis will be given to exploring the covenantal nature of God’s self-revelation and to the rules and guidelines for reading and properly interpreting the Bible.

Church History and Sacraments

Course: 1111
Required: 1 Credit

This course seeks to create a solid foundation of faith through an examination of the creed and of sacraments. Special emphasis will be placed on how the truths of the creed provide us with solid ground upon which we can stand in this world and to the sacramental life of the Church as the ordinary means by which Catholics have regular access to God’s grace and holiness.

Morality

Course 1211
Required: 1 Credit

This course will examine the moral life based on both reason and revelation. Students will be introduced to the particular role virtue plays in achieving genuine happiness. Special emphasis will be given to helping students desire to imitate Christ and to make wise moral decisions as they journey toward the goal for which God created them: perfect happiness in heaven.  Finally, students will learn how to research and write on a topic of moral theology.

Apologetics and Prayer

Course: 1311
Required: 1 Credit

This course will introduce students to natural apologetics (defending the existence of God, the human soul, and responding to the problem of evil). The course will also explore and defend the complementarity of science and religion, as well as other modern issues, enabling students to see how they are the “two wings of the human spirit by which it soars to truth”.  

Students will close the year with a deeper introduction to the interior life of prayer. Fundamental concepts of prayer will be explained, common struggles and solutions will be developed, and students will encounter various spiritual masters of prayer through primary source documents. Throughout the year, students will be guided through the Capstone graduation requirement.